SPEAKER: DAVID TAN
TEXT: ROMANS 1:16-17
Gospel faith is founded on the doctrine that our salvation is COMPLETELY an act of repentance of sin, and turning to Jesus in faith. The good news is, Jesus died to save us “while we were still sinners ” and not on the basis of our own righteousness. By God’s grace we are now accepted and justified – we now live in obedience as the fruit of our repentance and a testimony of our love for the Lord who loved us first.
Rom 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”It was in 1513 that Martin Luther came to this radical realization as he read Paul’s letter to the Romans . In 1517 he set off a movement that would revolutionise Christianity and changed the world.
What is the gospel? It is good news concerning Jesus whose coming was foretold in the Old Testament, who was born, died and rose again (Rom 1:3,4) to save all humanity, both Jew and Gentile (Rom 1:16,17). We see 4 key teachings regarding the gospel in this text:
1. God has the power to save
Salvation is the act of being delivered from a disaster or death or both. Human life is already under judgment because of sin (Ro 3:23) and one day we shall all face death. Only God who created life has the power to save, and He alone can be our savior.
2. God’s salvation is for everyone
God desires all people to be saved. How are we saved? By believing. ‘Believe’ and ‘faith’ are key words in Paul’s letter. “It is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (v16). To believe is to put complete trust in Jesus whose death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead promises salvation . It is not mere agreement with a set of doctrines but trust in a person. Like the thief on the cross, to have faith is to “come and with the mouth of our soul open to seek God’s grace” (Calvin).
3. It is God’s righteousness revealed
As Paul declares, the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel first and last (v17). Firstly, salvation reveals God’s righteousness, and lastly, salvation makes the unrighteous righteous by his grace. It is not God’s righteousness working together with us offering up our record of righteousness. Salvation is from start to end, the work of God. Douglas Moo defines God's righteousness "as the act by which God brings people into right relationship with himself"
4. The righteous live by faith
Faith believes and receives God’s righteousness that is displayed on the cross of Jesus and by his resurrection. By trusting in Jesus’ finished work, we are counted as righteous.
Rom 3:25, 26 “…because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”God does not magically transform us into morally perfect persons at the point of belief. It means God’s Supreme Court has found us ‘Not Guilty’ and we have been acquitted, as if we have not committed sin.
The first step towards faith is illustrated by Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) who both went to the temple to pray. It was the Tax Collector who cried out, “God have mercy on me, I am a sinner!” Jesus said the Tax Collector and not the self-righteous Pharisee who went home justified before God.
In conclusion, as a people who have found grace and forgiveness, Gospel faith rightly motivates joyful obedience. Because we have been accepted in Jesus, Gospel faith drives our service because we have experienced the love of God.
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DAVID TAN is Chairman and Elder of Hope EFC and the proprietor of an advertising agency.
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